Quarters add new chapter to rivalry

Serena Williams, Henin played epic final in 2007

Cruising along in the Sony Ericsson, losing more than two games in a set only once and feasting on lower-level competition, she has advanced seemingly without sweat.

In three matches, her opponents have broken her serve just once. Monday, she double-faulted four times in one game and admitted to lapses in concentration, yet won 6-2, 6-2 over Elena Vesnina.

That's all over now. It's time to play Serena Williams again.

Monday's wins by the pair set up today's rematch of last year's final in this year's quarterfinals. Williams took the title last year in an outrageous 0-6, 7-5, 6-3 comeback, so emotionally draining that she can barely bring herself to talk about it now, saying she was "down and out, just trying to get through it."

But this match has much less to do with last year's final than with what happened after it, when Henin defeated Williams three straight times, all in Grand Slams.

"I think we have a great rivalry," Williams said. "I mean, we definitely bring out some of the best tennis in each other, and she tends to play really well against me. Probably better against me than other opponents, so it's definitely a good match for me."

Things changed in that final last March, Henin guesses. Yes, she walked away in defeat, but also with the idea that defeating Williams was within reach. It was enough encouragement to start the three-match win streak that brought the all-time series to a tie at six, and erase all the doubts about her mental toughness that arose from her collapse in Key Biscayne.

"Actually it's a very good memory," Henin said of the final. "Even if I had match points and I lost the match. It was a day that I understood I could win against Serena and that I could do it in Grand Slams."

She added: "It's very good to have this kind of rivalry, because she's a champion and I think there was a lot of respect in our matches last year. Everyone was really excited about our meetings."

The match highlights a final eight that is heavy on star power after every upset bid ended Monday. Lindsay Davenport, 31, who was making an unlikely post-pregnancy tournament run, lost 6-3 6-4 to Dinara Safina.

Sabine Lisicki, the young German who upset Anna Chakvetadze late Sunday, saw her run end at the hands of Elena Dementieva, 6-3, 6-2.

Six of the eight quarterfinalists are seeded in the top 10, including Venus Williams (sixth) and Svetlana Kuznetsova (third).